[xstreaminsanity]

Yeah, I crumbled again and bought another retail box. One of those Gems of the Game where they guarantee an AU, GU or RC. I bought one two days ago as well, and pulled a Steve Nash 2006-07 SP Game Used GU and a Dominigue Jones Rookies and Stars NBA Draft Manufactured Patch AU /499. It was an OK break. Anyways, I bought one last night as well, just because my itch was bad, and the guaranteed card was an AU. However, it's not certified. It's a 1990-91 Fleer #171 Sean Elliott base card (as they all were back then) with what looks like a dead on signature in a very nice felt pen (maybe). I'll take a scan of it tonight and put it up here. Anyways, the company that makes the boxes is MJ Holding Company (I don't believe it has any actual relation to MJ) and I was wondering if anyone thinks I should contact them for a COA? They get their cards from retailers and dealers. But I would think that if they were going to put in a TTM AU (or maybe it was gotten in person) in their product, there would be a COA. If not, they could really get away with some swindling. Also, do you think it is worth hassling them, if I do contact them, to see if they'll pay for the card to be authenticated (and maybe graded) by JSA snd BGS? It's not like it's an amazing looking card, but if I were to get rid of it, I want people to know it's legit.

The reason why I say "if I were to get rid of it" is because I kind of have a soft spot for Sean Elliott. First off, at one point in time, he was a Piston (in the card he's a Spur, my second favorite team). But secondly, I heard about his Kidney issue not too long after I had had bladder reconstruction surgery. I had to have the surgery (will skip the nasty details) because it was destroying my kidneys (my right is 85%? operational and my left is around 25%). So to see someone who battled not the worst issue one could have, but one that could have ended his career but he had a very good role player career, that was encouraging to me as a teen. That would be another reason why I would want it authenticated at least.

Anyways, any thoughts on if I should contact the distributor/manufacturer of the boxes and do you think I'd have any leeway to get the card at least authenticated? Any and all input is appreciated. Thanks.

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Oh yeah, and for the record, the rest of the box was a complete dud. But it was fun busting it.

[robd5811]

Doesnt hurt to try, i know i probably would..and good story im glad u were able to recover man

[cody_allen]

Just so u know, I did a little digging and it says the mj holding group is owned by Beckett..hmm lol. I'm also thinking about contacting them because I got a peyton manning rc card with a fake auto on it. So I didn't get an auto or gu [/quote] card..

[xstreaminsanity]

Just so u know, I did a little digging and it says the mj holding group is owned by Beckett..hmm lol. I'm also thinking about contacting them because I got a peyton manning rc card with a fake auto on it. So I didn't get an auto or gu card..

While the name is the same, like Josh Beckett, I don't believe there's any actual relation between Beckett Associates and Beckett Media, but I could be wrong.

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Ok, so I called them earlier and spoke with someone and she just gave me a call back. 1) Beckett Associates is not related to Beckett Media. 2) She said that they have contractors who are contracted to get some of the cards signed (sounds sketchy). 3) She didn't (not that the company doesn't) know what JSA was. 4) When I mentioned to her about the Peyton Manning AU, she said that it is more than likely a hologram card.

She suggested that I might want to send it to get authenticated on my own behalf, but I asked her to send my email and contact information to her supervisor (since she said she was going to ask his opinion) so that he could inform me of what the company can or would be willing to do. I suggested to her also that she may want to contact JSA and see if they can get bulk authentication done because most people who buy their products require COA with TTM AU. She was very nice and cordial, though towards the end it sounded like she really wanted to get off the phone. If I don't hear anything back within a week, I'll try giving them a call again, but I'm not expecting to hear anything back from them. I do think, however, that I may not purchase any more of their boxes if the AU they're guaranteeing are like that. I find it sketchy that they contract people to get AU from players but they have no way of providing a COA. Even if it was a piece of paper stating that "This card was signed in the presence of Joe Smoe." and preferably have contact information for Joe Smoe or some reputation.

So, this is a warning to anyone who has been thinking about picking up one of these boxes. You can have a great box like I have had and pull 4 GU out of one box, or you can have a box like I had last night with a TTM AU with no COA and no other card in the box worth noting. So please be careful...and stick to Hobby.

[jonathani]

My guess is that you have received all the help from them you are going to get, unfortunately. But I do sincerely hope I am wrong!

caveat emptor

JonathanI

[taffster74]

If i remember correctly, fleer and skybox actually did release unannounced auto's in their earlier stuff - all of them are pretty much no-name players now. this may well be one of them. They were basically the regular with an auto on the front and nothing else.

[xstreaminsanity]

Well the supervisor did end up calling me and we talked about it. He said that they will only really do something for high end stuff, but that is normally done before it is packaged. But for lower end stuff, such as mine, it's not cost effective, which I can agree with. He was very nice and cordial and he explained to me how they have had other issues with some of the cards and they take care of them as they come in, and one of them is a Peyton Manning issue. If you pull a Peyton as the guaranteed card, I'd recommend giving them a call.

[xstreaminsanity]

Picture is uploaded to the first post.

[edye1286]

I like the look and hope it is real.. where dose everyone buy retail from? Wal-mart? K-Mart? Just wondering because I have checked many local stores like this and many times they have 100's of boxes of baseball and football but have no basketball? Anyone else have this problem?

[xstreaminsanity]

I like the look and hope it is real.. where dose everyone buy retail from? Wal-mart? K-Mart? Just wondering because I have checked many local stores like this and many times they have 100's of boxes of baseball and football but have no basketball? Anyone else have this problem?

If and when I buy retail, I prefer Wal-Mart, then K-Mart, then Toy's 'R Us, then Target. I always prefer the mixed pack boxes for a few reasons, because then you have a chance of getting luckier than a regular blaster. A regular blaster can get you 1, MAYBE 2 GU if you're really lucky (I was once). However, a mixed pack box can get you more. I had one mixed pack box that got me 4 GU cards. But, I've also had some that gave me none. It's always a gamble.

As for the lack of Basketball, I believe that's because of the lockout but also because of the fact that if you rank the audience, Basketball is the third watched sport in the US, fourth if you include Canada in the numbers. At least that's what I think is the issue.